


Better Circumstances

by karcathy



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Drinking, Fluff, M/M, like excessive drinking that is definitely not at all inspired by me last friday night lmao
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-13
Updated: 2016-03-13
Packaged: 2018-05-26 11:44:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6237283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/karcathy/pseuds/karcathy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kurapika gets a little excessively shitfaced, but luckily Leorio is willing to look after him - even if it does mean getting vomit all over his carpet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Better Circumstances

Kurapika certainly hadn't intended to get this drunk. What started off as just a couple of drinks with colleagues after a long week quickly became drinking excessively to make up for the fact that he hasn't relaxed in at least two months. Although the question of whether he was ever really relaxed was arguable. In other words, it was barely past midnight, he was shitfaced and somewhere en route from the bar to the club, he'd managed to become separated from everyone else. Despite the fact that he couldn't stand without swaying or focus on his phone screen enough to send a text asking where the others were, he was still trying to convince the bouncers to let him in.

“Look, I'm sorry, but you can't come in like that.”

“Like what? I'm _fine_ ,” slurred Kurapika, before promptly bending over and vomiting on the bouncer's shoes.

“Clearly,” said the bouncer, frowning, “Did you come here with anyone? Do you need us to call you a taxi?”

“I did- I lost them,” said Kurapika, looking dismayed, then perking up again as he added, “But it's fine. I've, I have a friend. Close by. It's fine.”

“Are you sure you can make it there?” asked the bouncer as Kurapika walked off, swaying gently and briefly coming to rest against a wall before continuing.

Kurapika just waved a hand dismissively and mumbled something about it being a straight line, before continuing along the street in a line that was anything but straight. The bouncer watched him go with an expression that was a mixture between concerned and impressed. He might be unable to walk in a straight line or retain the contents of his stomach, but he was still determined to look after himself – probably.

 

***

 

Even with all the swaying, it didn't take Kurapika long to reach Leorio's house, although he did have to pause to throw up in someone's garden a few doors down. He squinted carefully at the number, waiting for it to focus clearly enough for him to be relatively (perhaps 65%) sure he was at the right door.

“Leorio!” he called in a sing-song voice, pounding heavily on the door, “It's me-ee!”

He continued to shout Leorio's name and bang on the door until it swung open, and he nearly fell through the doorway.

“It's one in the- are you drunk?” said Leorio, catching hold of Kurapika's shoulders then gently guiding him inside.

“Maybe a little bit,” said Kurapika, giggling, “I-”

He broke off as, without pausing, he vomited all over the carpet. Somehow he still had the presence of mind to hop over the small puddle of vomit.

“I liked that carpet,” said Leorio, somewhat mournfully, “And you are definitely very drunk. Come on, let's get you to the bathroom before you ruin anything else.”

Gently, Leorio manhandled Kurapika, who was quietly babbling some nonsense he couldn't follow, upstairs and into the bathroom.

“Here,” he said, flipping up the lid, “Do you need to throw up again?”

“Probably,” admitted Kurapika, leaning over the toilet and dry-heaving a couple of times.

“Are you all right for now? I'll go get you some water,” said Leorio, absent-mindedly patting him on the back.

Moaning, Kurapika knelt down on the tiled floor and braced his hands against the toilet rim. He threw up again, and noted with detached unease that it looked a little bloody. Perhaps he had seriously overdone it. He quickly flushed away the evidence – no need to make Leorio more concerned – and washed out his mouth. He then knelt back down next to the toilet, his head leant against the wall and his eyes shut. This felt much worse than he'd anticipated; he'd never been this trashed before. He had thought getting very drunk involved more fun and less staring blankly waiting for everything to stop spinning; clearly the media had been lying about alcohol to make it seem like more of a good idea.

“How's it going?” asked Leorio gently, handing him a glass of water.

“Everything is terrible and I am dying,” replied Kurapika, staring blankly into the glass.

Cautiously, he took a sip, then immediately bent over the toilet again. This time, he just brought up a clear mixture of acid and mucus that burned his throat even worse than before.

“Looks like you've run out of things to throw up,” observed Leorio, “Although given the fact you can't even seem to keep water down right now, I'm not sure if that's going to stop you.”

“Ha, ha,” said Kurapika weakly, taking another mouthful of water and carefully gargling it before spitting it into the toilet, “I feel like death.”

“That's what you get for drinking your own bodyweight,” said Leorio, carefully pushing Kurapika's damp hair out of his eyes. Kurapika smiled and leant into the touch, then frowned as Leorio withdrew his hand.

“I didn't even get close to that,” he said, leaning back against the wall and closing his eyes again, “I can't have had... Well,” he frowned, trying to focus, “there was maybe... half a bottle at the restaurant. I'm not sure. Maybe it was more. And then we went to the bar...”

“Do I want to know what you had at the bar?”

“Shots and cocktails and pitchers, oh my,” said Kurapika drily, “I know, I know, it was far too much.”

“I'm impressed you could fit that much in you,” teased Leorio, “You'd think you'd be overflowing.”

“I am not small, I'm a perfectly normal height,” said Kurapika, reaching out slowly, his eyes still shut, to jab Leorio in the side, “You're just a giant.”

“Ha, is that the thanks I get? I could have left you out there to fend for yourself.”

“You wouldn't have slept all night,” countered Kurapika.

“That's true,” said Leorio, massaging his temples, “I didn't know you could be so loud.”

Kurapika just smiled weakly, resisting the urge to make an inappropriate joke, and took a sip of water. This time, he managed to keep it down.

“Do you think you're done throwing up?” asked Leorio, resting a hand gently on his shoulder.

“For now. I hope.”

“Okay, then. You can have my bed as long as you promise not to throw up in it. I'll get you a bucket, too,” said Leorio, standing up and offering Kurapika his hand.

“All right,” said Kurapika, taking his hand and weakly pulling himself upright. Leorio squeezed his hand gently before releasing it, and Kurapika swayed slightly before getting his balance, Leorio's hands hovering next to him to catch him if he fell.

“We should probably get you out of those clothes, too,” added Leorio, wrinkling his nose, “They're a bit...”

“Yeah,” agreed Kurapika, kicking off his shoes and starting to shed layers.

“Wait a moment, I'll get you something clean to wear,” said Leorio, hurrying off as Kurapika started to pull down his trousers.

He'd never seen him this uninhibited and to be honest, it was a little disconcerting. He was more used to the guy who never even removed his shirt and who would punch someone in the face for coming out of the bathroom naked. It only took him a moment to find a T-shirt – which would be massive on Kurapika – and decide that none of his pyjama trousers would even come close to fitting him. He came back to find Kurapika standing in the middle of the bathroom in just his underwear, shivering slightly. Averting his eyes, he handed him the shirt.

“Sorry I don't have anything else,” he said, staring at the floor, “One of the downsides of being a giant.”

Kurapika looked especially tiny in the T-shirt, which fell halfway down his thighs and well past his elbows.

“I'm not convinced this was designed for a human being,” he said, staring down at himself, “Are you sure it fits you?”

“Hmmph,” said Leorio, “It fits me just fine. Come on, the bedroom is this way.”

Pausing to gather up Kurapika's discarded clothes, he led him through to the bedroom and pointed at the bed.

“I'm just going to get you that bucket,” he said, “Make yourself comfortable.”

Kurapika seemed to have sobered up a little bit, but he was still swaying as he made his way over to the bed and collapsed on top of the covers. Leorio took the bundle of dirty clothes and shoved them in the washing machine, then grabbed a bucket and a fresh glass of water and returned to the bedroom.

“All right,” he said, placing the bucket next to the bed and the water on his nightstand, “Do you need anything else?”

Kurapika shook his head mutely, one arm flung over his eyes.

“Do you want me to turn the light off?”

He nodded slowly.

“Okay,” said Leorio, flicking the light off, “I'll be in the living room if you need me. Try not to vomit on everything.”

He was just about to leave when he heard a soft voice say “Wait”.

“Yes?” he said, turning back towards Kurapika.

“Stay with me. Please.”

“Okay. Do you want me to sit on the bed or should I get a chair?”

“Bed. Please.”

Carefully, Leorio rearranged the pillows and slid onto the bed next to Kurapika, who rolled over and swung an arm across Leorio's torso, burying his face in his side.

“You're really shitfaced, huh,” said Leorio, gently stroking his fine blonde hair away from his face.

“Mmm,” mumbled Kurapika, nodding. His nose brushed against Leorio's side, the fabric tickling his nostrils, and he snorted softly.

“What brought this on, then?” Leorio asked, his tone gentle and his eyes soft as he looked down at the blond, who seemed smaller than ever cradled against him like this. Kurapika didn't reply, his arm tightening around Leorio.

“Hey, are you all right?” he said, looking down with a concerned expression.

Kurapika stayed silent, but Leorio thought he heard a strangled sob.

“Hey, are you crying?” asked Leorio, gently pushing him back so he could see his face, “What's wrong?”

Kurapika's sobbing intensified, and he pulled himself back into Leorio's side, burying his face and muffling his tears in his T-shirt.

“Hey, hey, it's okay,” said Leorio, carefully patting his back, “You can cry if you need to.”

“I- I- I just-” stuttered Kurapika between sobs, his voice muffled by Leorio's shirt, “I just want- and I didn't even- and it's not _fair_!”

“I know, I know,” said Leorio, completely lost, as he stroked Kurapika's back, “I know.”

Kurapika gave up all attempts at speaking and just continued to cry into Leorio's T-shirt. Leorio just muttered soothing platitudes and stroked his back, gradually growing more and more drowsy. Eventually they both fell asleep, closely entwined around each other.

 

***

 

Leorio woke up at 7, according to his alarm clock, in almost exactly the same position, with a crick in his neck. Groaning, he started to stretch, then remembered Kurapika, who was now almost entirely on top of him, with the top of his head resting just below his chin and one of his knees digging uncomfortably into his crotch. He contemplated pushing him off, but decided he couldn't be that cruel.

It only took about 20 minutes longer for Kurapika to wake up, groaning, and lean over to throw up a small quantity of acid and mucus into the bucket.

“I feel like death,” he said, flailing for the glass of water, which Leorio carefully picked up and guided to his mouth before he could knock it over, “What have I _done_?”

“Sworn off alcohol for life, I hope,” said Leorio, carefully guiding Kurapika's sharp elbow off of his ribcage.

“Ha. I can't promise life,” said Kurapika, rolling over so his back rested against Leorio's chest and throwing his arms over his face, “Although I do feel like it right now.”

“I can imagine,” said Leorio, his eyes drifting shut and his hands automatically slipping around Kurapika's abdomen.

“Mmm,” said Kurapika, gently butting his head against Leorio's chin and folding his hands over the other man's, “This feels nice, though.”

“Mmm,” agreed Leorio, too sleepy to think through the implications, “We should do this more often. Maybe without the binge-drinking.”

Kurapika laughed softly and rolled over, resting his chin against Leorio's. His eyes drifted shut as he sleepily pressed a kiss against Leorio's mouth, and Leorio unthinkingly kissed him back. Kurapika rested his forearms against Leorio's shoulders and deepened the kiss, as his hands drifted up his back, then froze as Leorio pulled away.

“I'm sorry,” he said, cringing backwards, “That was definitely crossing a line. Or several. I'll just-”

“Wait,” said Leorio, tightening his grip on his back, “Your breath tastes terrible, but... That. That wasn't awful.”

“Thanks,” said Kurapika, with a wry smile.

“I mean- Oh, just shut up and kiss me,” he said, grinning, “We can talk about it later.”

Kurapika happily obliged, then pulled away and rolled onto his back as a jagged pain pulsed through his head.

“Oh, god,” he said, clutching his head, “Last night was a really bad idea. I don't think I can move.”

“Stay there,” advised Leorio, getting up, “I'll get you something to eat. And a breathmint.”

Kurapika just groaned in response. Leorio smiled to himself as he walked to the kitchen. Maybe excessive drinking was a bad idea, but he couldn't have seen this happening under better circumstances. 

**Author's Note:**

> Teen rating just because of the alcohol. Don't drink, kids! 
> 
> anyway, i just wanted some drunk!pika being adorable, because, honestly, we all need that. here's to my first fic in like, 2.5 years. amazing. (i should celebrate with a drink)


End file.
